Shop Employees (State) Award [2006] NSWIRComm 5

Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales

CITATION: Shop Employees (State) Award [2006] NSWIRComm 5

APPLICANTS Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association, New South Wales Shop Assistants and Warehouse Employees' Federation of Australia, Newcastle and Northern New South Wales

RESPONDENTS Australian Business Industrial PARTIES: Australian Industry Group, New South Wales Branch Australian Retailers Association, New South Wales Catholic Commission for Employment Relations Employers First

INTERVENOR Unions NSW

FILE NUMBER(S): IRC 5543 and 5544 of 2005

CORAM: Wright J President; Boland J; Tabbaa C

Award - Application to vary - Union picnic day - Public holiday - Application to delete reference to union picnic day in award and substitute an additional day to be regarded as a public holiday - Concern on part of applicants that with the commencement of Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth) employees under Shop Employees (State) Award will lose entitlement to union picnic day - Consideration of the impact of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth) on award entitlements to union picnic day and to public holidays - Likelihood that with commencement of Work Choices Act employees will lose entitlement to union picnic day - Such likelihood not grounds for granting application to vary - Union picnic day prescribed by Award has none of characteristics of a picnic day - Substitution of an additional public holiday would not cause inconvenience or increase costs - Special case exists for substituting an additional public holiday for the union picnic day - Award varied